Best Digiboxes for Fringe reception

[Mike4t]

I run the following on a 2.4m with Invacom Quad, Pace2600c1, PaceDS430N and a Sky Plus box, with 60mtrs of CT100 on
would rate in that order, I can sometimes lose Movie channels on the Sky+ early evening, ok rest of day though, all others 24/7

 

[dave stringer]

hey
I am asking which is the best I am living in Denmark pace2600 /Panasonic TU-DSB30

Mike

I live in southern Sweden and have the DSB-30 connected to a 1.4m dish which is fine, although I had to replace my oldísh LNB.

If you are using your Digibox to watch the BBC channels and ITV it may be a good idea to have a receiver like the Nokia 9800S as a backup for bad weather - it has a far more sensitive tuner and pulls in signal when the DSB-30 has given up and gone to bed......

Good luck!

 

[Corrigapp]

I live in southern Sweden and have the DSB-30 connected to a 1.4m dish which is fine, although I had to replace my oldísh LNB.

If you are using your Digibox to watch the BBC channels and ITV it may be a good idea to have a receiver like the Nokia 9800S as a backup for bad weather - it has a far more sensitive tuner and pulls in signal when the DSB-30 has given up and gone to bed......

Good luck!

Hello Dave,

I also live in southern Sweden (outside Lund) and was interested to read your post. I've used a DSB-30 in the past and considered it to be a good receiver for fringe reception, until the lock-ups that is. Is the Nokia 9800S really that much better than the Panny, if so I'll have to try and get one. Do your comments also go for any of the other Nokia receivers? I've heard good words about the 212S but they're difficult to find these days.

Corrigap

 

[kitschcamp]

This is very interesting for me. I only recently moved to Skåne, near Eslöv, and am still trying to get my satellite system sorted. The installer put the wrong type of LNB on my 2.4m dish, so I currently get very poor reception, and I'm waiting for the C120 feedhorn and LNB to arrive to set it up correctly.

I currently have a DSB-30 that I'm using, and as soon as it rains, it stops working. This is really annoying seeing as it's attached to my TiVo, so I can lose days of programs if I don't notice.

 

[dave stringer]

Hello Dave,

I also live in southern Sweden (outside Lund) and was interested to read your post. I've used a DSB-30 in the past and considered it to be a good receiver for fringe reception, until the lock-ups that is. Is the Nokia 9800S really that much better than the Panny, if so I'll have to try and get one. Do your comments also go for any of the other Nokia receivers? I've heard good words about the 212S but they're difficult to find these days.

Corrigap

Hello Corrigap,

Yep, the Nokia 9800S / 9802S has a far more sensitive tuner than the DSB-30, although as a FTA box it is no good for CH4 & CH5.....

I would not recommend the 212S - the tuner is nowhere near the quality of the earlier receivers. Stick to the 9800S / 9802S or the 9900S / 9902S.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[dave stringer]

This is very interesting for me. I only recently moved to Skåne, near Eslöv, and am still trying to get my satellite system sorted. The installer put the wrong type of LNB on my 2.4m dish, so I currently get very poor reception, and I'm waiting for the C120 feedhorn and LNB to arrive to set it up correctly.

I currently have a DSB-30 that I'm using, and as soon as it rains, it stops working. This is really annoying seeing as it's attached to my TiVo, so I can lose days of programs if I don't notice.

Kitchcamp,

Please, find a new installer!

1. With a 2.4m dish there is no reason why rain should cause a problem. I run a 1.4m dish near Linkoping and it works fine, whatever the weather... Your dish just needs to be aligned correctly, nothing more.

2. You do not need a C120 feedhorn etc etc, go to your local Biltema and buy a universal LNB for SEK99.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Corrigapp]

Hello Corrigap,

Yep, the Nokia 9800S / 9802S has a far more sensitive tuner than the DSB-30, although as a FTA box it is no good for CH4 & CH5.....

I would not recommend the 212S - the tuner is nowhere near the quality of the earlier receivers. Stick to the 9800S / 9802S or the 9900S / 9902S.

Cheers,
Dave

Ok, thanks Dave.

corrigap

 

[dxsat]

You do not need a C120 feedhorn etc etc, go to your local Biltema and buy a universal LNB for SEK99.

Not if the dish is prime focus, only a C120 type is suitable for this antenna.It probably is prime focus if it is 2.4metres.
A universal type will be useless, this may have been what he meant by the installer putting in the wrong type of LNB.

 

[oscarpolly]

is there any patches for the panasonic tu dsb40...?

 

[iggy]

Hi guys, just quick question, which one is better, Amstrad DRX400 or Panasonic TU-DSB30 in tearms of fringe area reception.

thanks for reply

 

[iceman]

If it is a fringe area reception use i would go for the Panasonic myself due to the fact that i belive they have a superior tuner.
Having said that,you must also bear in mind that these boxes started having some issues after the last firmware upgrade they had..
My personal belief is that these boxes freeze up if certain transponders are lacking on the system..

read more about it on the stick thread below "Which Skybox for low-fringe Lefkosia,Cyprus?"

 

[iggy]

If it is a fringe area reception use i would go for the Panasonic myself due to the fact that i belive they have a superior tuner.
Having said that,you must also bear in mind that these boxes started having some issues after the last firmware upgrade they had..
My personal belief is that these boxes freeze up if certain transponders are lacking on the system..

read more about it on the stick thread below "Which Skybox for low-fringe Lefkosia,Cyprus?"

Thanks for reply, i only wanted to know if it was going to be any better in my location then Amstrad which i in fact own anyway. Having read this thread i decided to buy this box due to its bargain price on local ebay. it cost me.....8 pounds, so i think it was worth that effort :-)

 

[bignick]

Thanks for reply, i only wanted to know if it was going to be any better in my location then Amstrad which i in fact own anyway. Having read this thread i decided to buy this box due to its bargain price on local ebay. it cost me.....8 pounds, so i think it was worth that effort :-)

Iceman is correct. I don't know if you are in a REALLY weak part or not. The Amstrad DRX400, does have an excellent reputation, I heard that installers in Spain rave about them. I have used and seen a couple here in Cyprus too and I must admit I quite like them. Its a personal opinion but I would take one ahead of the Panni. But as Iceman has correctly pointed out, check out the Sticky thread and make your own informed decision.

Cheers

Nick

PS. I have updated my Sky Plus to the Pace PVR3 TDS470N - I'm impressed, it seems similar in performance to the DS430N. Definately head and shoulders above the Pace 3100.

 

[kitschcamp]

Not if the dish is prime focus, only a C120 type is suitable for this antenna.It probably is prime focus if it is 2.4metres.
A universal type will be useless, this may have been what he meant by the installer putting in the wrong type of LNB.

Yeah, it's a prime focus. And yup, he put one for an offset dish on it.

It's been working fine for the past month or so with the C120 LNB and feedhorn. Spectacularly well!

This weekend, when the temperature dropped, and we've now got totally clear skies, I've lost BBC and ITV again. When it was raining the last few weeks, no problem at all. I'm totally flumoxed.

 

[iggy]

Just a moment ago tested both receivers (AMSTRAD DRX400 vs PANNY TU DSB-30). Surprisingly Amstrad came out of this competition significantly better. Weather conditions are not very good at the moment cause it's raining so that also affects signal quality even though Amstrad managed to receive signal from vertical transponders with no effort whereas Panny tried his best but failed this time. Amstrad gave me clear picture while Panny did it cracked.

Panasonic DSB-30 Sig. Strenght - 70 Sig. Quality 80
Amstrad DRX400 Sig. Strenght - 100 Sig. Quality 80

 

[joddle]

Locatead a few KM south of Valencia I use a Pace 2600 along with Fortecstar 2.4M petalised dish (mounted on the flat roof of our house), Invacom Dual LNB and feedhorn. During the day we get ALL freeview channels plus Ch4 and Ch5. Signal on Pace registers at 60% to 80% and quality varies from 50% to 70% even late at night.

Despite the good signal levels we lose ITV3 (really anoying) early in the evening followed by ITV2 and ITV4 after another 90 mins or so. About 30 mins after that we start to lose BBC3 and BBC4 but everything else holds out until well into the evening. At about 9:30 (local time) we loose BBC1 from Tyne Tees (default using Free to air Sky Card) but can get it for another 90 minutes or so from London. By 11pm BBC1 is lost completely and other channels start can sometime also become difficult.

 

[Rabbit]

Yeah, it's a prime focus. And yup, he put one for an offset dish on it.

It's been working fine for the past month or so with the C120 LNB and feedhorn. Spectacularly well!

This weekend, when the temperature dropped, and we've now got totally clear skies, I've lost BBC and ITV again. When it was raining the last few weeks, no problem at all. I'm totally flumoxed.

Did you get this problem sorted?

 

[kitschcamp]

No, without a spectrum analyser or a decent installer we're just hunting in the skies. I'd happily pay for a decent installer to come and sort it, the number of hours I've wasted... But we're really struggling to get an installer to understand that Astra 2D is not the same as getting BBC World on Astra 1x.

I can get reception for a couple of days, sometimes just hours, and then it goes again. I think I've worked out what the problem is, though. The original installer put the base of the dish on a platform made of wood that he also constructed. The base is not treated, and when it rains the wood swells. When it gets cold, the water freezes and starts to swell. When it gets warmer, the wood starts to dry out and the wood shrinks. All of these move the dish.

Seeing as the movement I need to make to get reception is only about 0.5mm - 1mm on the vertical adjustment pole, wood shrinking and swelling is easily going to lose reception I think!

 

[carleen]

i live in cyprus larnaca i think a low fringe area, and have a panasonic dsb40 it works well where i am although having problems with channel 4 sky 2 and 3 and some childrens channels

 

[iceman]

I am surprised no one has commented on the quality of the tuner on the Thomson DSI8215 Sky+ HD Digibox...
I have been using this box for the past 5-6 weeks on my 3.0m Prime focus in Cyprus and must say it has an excellent tuner..
I can easily say it has the most sensitive tuner i have come across on Skyboxes..
Using a 3.0m dish for SKY reception (which is not my recomended dish size for trouble free reception) i have the lowest signal on 2D between 6-8pm...Since i have a quad invacom and four lines into the house,i can have other boxes connected at the same time...This gives me the chance to observe/compare tuner sensitivity at times of low signal...Thomson DSI8215 is the last box to experience pixelation at these times...
This box is definately my first recomendation to anyone who wants a tuner sensitive skybox..